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    Thorns & Thistles
    Thorns & Thistles
    Thorns & Thistles
    Ebook408 pages37 minutes

    Thorns & Thistles

    By William Cory Stanley

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    I have spent my life searching for words
    to express the depth of a wound
    that can only be shared in tears.
    Beyond translation,
    more powerful than words,
    tears are a language God understands
    and a dialect we learn in thorns and thistles.
    While letters drop from words like falling stars,
    and tears shadow the rain,
    God whispers through my pain.
    In poetry and prose,
    these words are my faith, hope, and love
    for those with a lack thereof,
    those still wishing on stars above.
    My consolation, highest honor,
    would be souls unbound.
    Might the words of my life be your lost and found?
    I pray between these lines,
    God consumes your heart and mind,
    and His peace you find.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWilliam Cory Stanley
    Release dateMay 31, 2017
    ISBN9781370665136
    Thorns & Thistles
    Author

    William Cory Stanley

    William Cory Stanley is a dreamer. A dedicated husband and father of two children, he and his family reside in Indiana.

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      Book preview

      Thorns & Thistles - William Cory Stanley

      Dedication

      For Baylie and Clayton

      Like breadcrumbs,

      I leave these words behind,

      not because I am lost

      but hoping you can find.

      Long after I am gone,

      transcending space and time,

      maybe you will find Heaven

      after reading a word of mine.

      Acknowledgement

      My dreams were given by God

      but cultivated by a great educator,

      my English teacher Jennifer Osburn.

      If ever a soul was touched or moved

      by something I have written,

      she also touched them through me.

      Introduction

      I have spent my life searching for words

      to express the depth of a wound

      that can only be shared in tears.

      Beyond translation,

      more powerful than words,

      tears are a language God understands

      and a dialect we learn in thorns and thistles.

      While letters drop from words like falling stars,

      and tears shadow the rain,

      God whispers through my pain.

      In poetry and prose,

      these words are my faith, hope, and love

      for those with a lack thereof,

      still wishing on stars above.

      My consolation, highest honor,

      would be souls unbound.

      Might the words of my life be your lost and found?

      I pray between these lines,

      God consumes your heart and mind,

      and His peace you find.

      Chapter 1

      Faith

      When I am gone,

      and they read my words,

      I hope they hear thunder,

      and smell the rain.

      I want the world to know

      the storm did not capture my faith,

      only my will,

      and that was God’s will all along.

      God did not give us wings.

      He gave us free will.

      No,

      we cannot fly,

      but we can choose faith,

      hope, and love.

      Would the angels

      exchange their wings,

      I know not,

      but Hell doth envy.

      Maybe

      unanswered prayers

      have answers

      that our faith

      has yet to discern,

      and quietly

      God is giving us

      another lesson

      to learn.

      The world can watch

      as I fall to my knees,

      but only to see me pray,

      never concede.

      Let it be remembered,

      even in failure,

      I believed.

      It might take a lifetime of rain

      to water one small seed of faith,

      but watching your mountain move

      will be worth the wait in years

      and its weight in tears.

      Defeated by giants, maybe.

      But let the record show

      that I fought valiantly,

      with faith clenched in my teeth,

      and my pen in hand.

      Unyielding to the darkness

      our eyes adapt to the night.

      We walk by faith,

      not by sight.

      If upon reaching Heaven

      the light is too bright,

      God will be our shade.

      Standing

      in the shadow

      of a giant,

      facing

      insurmountable odds,

      David

      trusted God.

      Never

      let your intelligence

      get the best

      of your faith.

      Even if it takes

      a lifetime

      of suffering

      to enter Heaven,

      believe.

      Surely Heaven

      will smell like

      the pages

      of a new book.

      The poet

      writes about Heaven

      while the romantic

      gets lost in the search.

      For many

      it is just a legend,

      a tale

      of romance and rhyme,

      but if saved by grace

      through faith,

      true Heaven

      you will find.

      Sometimes

      doubt and fear

      smother my dreams,

      and for a moment

      I surrender,

      but then

      faith breathes.

      Never

      burden your dreams

      with

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